Natural killer cell counts are not different between patients with post-Lyme disease syndrome and controls.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Small cross-sectional case-control comparison of patient groups and healthy controls.
PubMed 19515868 · doi:10.1128/CVI.00167-09
What was done
Immunophenotyping for natural killer cells (defined by the CD57 marker) was performed across three groups: 9 individuals with post-Lyme disease syndrome, 12 individuals who recovered from Lyme disease, and 9 healthy volunteers.
What was found
The abstract reports that natural killer cell counts were not significantly different between the groups, but provides no specific numerical values, standard deviations, or p-values.
Why it matters
These findings challenge prior claims that decreased CD57 natural killer cell counts act as a distinct biomarker for chronic Lyme disease or post-Lyme disease syndrome.
Limits
The sample size is extremely small (total n = 30 across three arms), creating a high risk of being underpowered to detect modest differences. No exact numerical data or statistical parameters are provided in the abstract.
Cited by
- contradicts Natural killer cell activity is depressed in patients with conditions like COVID-19 and Lyme disease.